Under Falls
by CertifiedPilgrim
Summary: When both he and his sister Frisk are shipped off to Snowdin Town to stay with a few family friends, Asriel Dreemurr does not expect his break off from school to be all that great. However, a certain little book he found in Waterfall just may prove otherwise... And the fact that some people simply cannot be trusted, and that those closest to you can be the least trustworthy of all.
1. Chapter 1, Snowdin Stuck

_Chapter 1, Snowdin Stuck_

Ah, Snowdin Town. A lovely place built for fun, joy and relaxation... That is, unless you're flying through the air in a makeshift golf cart attempting to escape from a terrifying shadowy beast chasing after you through the woods. Young prince of all monsters in the Underground, Asriel Dreemurr, just happened to be in that situation. The human about to puke in the passenger seat, was his adopted sibling, Frisk. What they were doing in this golf cart fleeing from this creature of unimaginable horror is a bit of a long story, and part of an even longer one, so perhaps we should rewind a bit and get all caught up.

It all began when school went out. King Asgore and Queen Toriel had both decided that their children could do with some more time outside of the palace, so they shipped them off to Snowdin Town to stay with a good friend of the queen's, Sans the skeleton, and his younger brother, Papyrus. Asriel was a rather introverted monster, who never had too many friends other than Frisk. After all, he was known as the shy kid who wore the same green, yellow striped shirt every day and wasn't that great at communicating with people he didn't know. Though he was a boss monster, one of the most powerful monsters there is, he was too short, too fuzzy and too much of a nerd. Needless to say, he was not looking forward to this trip. For all he knew, he'd just be working at Sans's "infamous" hotdog stand for the entire break.

He wasn't wrong.

Sans had set both him and Frisk up for cleaning duty, and sometimes had them run the counter when he, for whatever reason, could not. To both children, Sans always seemed to be a bit of a mystery. He was a laid back monster, to say the least. In fact, he was so laid back that the word "lazy" may be a better fit. He was a short skeleton; stout and always wore the same blue hoodie over the same white t-shirt, with the same giant smile plastered on his face, no matter the situation it seemed. According to the queen, he was supposed to be working as a sentry in Snowdin Forest, but preferred his hotdog stand over anything else. At least he had a nice house.

However, Frisk tended to look on the brighter side of things, and despite this being what would seem like the most boring break they'd ever experience, it was no exception. Though the dusty attic of the skeleton brothers' house would be their new home for the next few months, she would always somehow find a way to cheer Asriel up, whether it be with a game or some goofy joke. Even with all of that, however, he just could not bring himself to believe that there would be any more than this same boring routine, until one fateful day.

"Byyyeee!" Frisk had waved at the flustered young monster boy leaving the stand, his face a bright tomato red color. "Come back soon!"

Asriel sighed, not even surprised at what he had just witnessed. He stared at his sibling blankly. "What was that?"

"What?" she said. "I just told him he looked nice today! What's so wrong with that?"

Asriel sighed again. "Nothing. Let's just get back to the house."

Why was Frisk trying to flirt with every boy her age now? Asriel didn't know and didn't care. Though, he preferred not to be around when she did, as they always turned out to be horrible disasters. He thought back to that one time that kid slipped almost fell off that bridge in Waterfall thanks to one of Frisk's nice compliments. It didn't help that this monster in particular didn't have any arms. Though they had managed to pull him back up, Asriel had made Frisk swear to be more careful.

Once the two had finished packing everything up, they began to tread back through the snow towards the town. It wasn't too long of a walk to get there, but neither of them were used to how cold it was in Snowdin. Though Asriel's fuzzy white fur kept him warm, Frisk had to borrow Papyrus's old red scarf to keep her face from freezing. Papyrus was tough, looked rather intimidating if you didn't know him, and despite being the younger brother, was MUCH taller than Sans. He wasn't the brightest monster around, but the siblings had actually taken quite a liking to him soon after they had arrived. He was kind, unintentionally funny and at least he didn't tell those god awful jokes that Sans always annoyed everyone with, everyone besides Frisk, that is. She had actually known the skeleton brothers for quite some time now, much longer than Asriel had, which may explain why she had been much more excited to come here than he was.

A cheery tune filled their ears as they stepped back into the joyous place known as Snowdin Town. Monsters of all shapes and sizes buzzed around, left and right. Some even greeted the siblings cheerfully as they passed each other. They knew everyone there fairly well, as they both had spent some time there before, Asriel simply hated the cold and preferred to spend his days in Waterfall or Hotland.

Passing by the giant decorated tree in the center of the village, they had finally reached their temporary home. The wooden door creaked loudly as Asriel opened it. Frisk shivered as she brushed her short dark hair out of her face, placing Papyrus's scarf on the couch, and just as she did, the tall skeleton then poked his head out of his room, looking down at them from the small loft at the top of the stairs.

"Human! Tiny Asgore!" he exclaimed. Asriel groaned in annoyance for what seemed the the one hundredth time at his newfound nickname. "Undyne! They're back!" Papyrus called, bounding down the stairs to greet the children.

"Hello!" Asriel said, flopping down on the couch.

"Hey, Paps!" Frisk waved. "Undyne's here?"

As if on cue, a tall figure literally jumped down from the loft above, landing perfectly on her feet. "You called?" she asked, flashing a sharp-toothed grin.

Head of the Royal Guard Undyne was a muscular fish-like monster with an athletic build. Even on days where there wasn't even a slight breeze, her bright red hair seemed to always trail behind her in the air. Both Asriel and Frisk knew her very well as she was normally hanging out around the castle with the rest of the guards.

"Yes!" Papyrus answered. "She's looking for new members for the Royal Guard! I was in charge of making signs!" He proudly held up a stack of brightly colored pieces of construction paper, glittery words sparkling across each one. Frisk's eyes widened in amazement. "I however, think I should be an obvious candidate." Papyrus glanced over at the fish monster.

"I told you!" Undyne sighed, leaning back into couch. "You still need more training! I can't just send ya out there not knowing what to do."

Papyrus frowned for a moment, then shrugged. "Anyways, you two! How was your day?"

Asriel shrugged. "Same as always, I guess. Just finished our..." he sighed. "Sans's shift at the hotdog stand. I'm actually kind of surprised at how popular it is."

"Yeah," Frisk chimed in. "I actually thought that kind of stuff was illegal down here if you don't have a permit."

"It is. The only reason I don't bust him for it is because he's got a cool brother." Undyne replied, opening up a thick comic book, a "manga" actually, the name "Alphys" scrawled in the top left corner of the worn cover.

Asriel rolled his eyes, not even surprised at Sans's lack of care towards the law... Or anything for that matter. "Where is he anyway?"

"Not sure." Papyrus answered. "Last time he was out this late, I found the lazy bag of bones asleep up in a tree."

"What? Nah, the lazy bag of bones was only resting his eyes. Only a lunatic would actually fall asleep in a tree." a voice came from behind them.

Asriel jumped, almost falling onto the floor, as they all turned their heads towards the corner of the room. Standing there, leaning against the wall, was none other than the short, smiling skeleton.

When on earth did he get there?!

"Sans, please! Quit scaring Tiny Asgore!" Papyrus told him.

Frisk giggled as Asriel sunk lower into the couch. "I-I wasn't scared, just a bit startled, that's all."

Sans laughed. "Ah, don't worry, kid. Only picking on you. Thanks for taking my shift, by the way."

"You are very welcome, good sir!" Frisk replied, tipping an imaginary hat.

"Yeah, if it weren't for you two, I'd have NO-BODY to work with." Frisk laughed and high-fived the monster while everyone else sighed in frustration.

"Honestly, Sans!" Papyrus shouted. "This is hardly the time! Undyne is in dire need of new members for the Royal Guard! Still a perfect candidate, by the way!" he added. Undyne nodded silently, staring at the images throughout her book. "Anyway, I need help putting these up! I have three more stacks prepared upstairs!"

"Not it!" the children quickly shouted in unison.

"Can't." Sans replied.

"And why is that?" Papyrus asked.

"Just can't."

The tall skeleton rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Well, I suppose it's just you and me, Undyne."

"Dang, wish I could, but this is getting intense."

"You need to stop hanging out with Alphys! You've been like this all week!" With no response from Undyne, Papyrus turned back towards the two kids. There was a bit of an awkward silence as he stared at them.

Asriel hung his head in defeat. "Fine. I'll help."

"Yes!" Frisk pumped her fist in the air.

"Excellent!" Papyrus shouted. "We shall leave immediately! We'll be back as soon as monsterly possible!" And without another word, he was already dragging the goat child back out into the cold.

Soon enough, Asriel was walking through the quiet place known as "Waterfall" by himself. Papyrus had sprinted off to put up posters in Hotland almost as soon as they had exited Snowdin. Asriel didn't mind, however; he enjoyed the calming silence. It gave him time to gather his thoughts. Today, however, he was only grumbling to himself. "Work all day at a moneyless job that isn't even mine, and the guy won't even get up to help his own brother..." he mumbled under his breath. What he still could not understand, no matter how hard he tried, was how his own mother could be friends with someone like Sans. After all, the only thing they had in common that he could think of was that they both enjoyed bad puns. Still grumbling to himself, he tried not to think about it and continued down the path that lead through Waterfall.

He hammered up a few signs on various parts of the wall, wondering how long the colorful pieces of paper would last in such a waterlogged place. It was only when he stumbled and a few papers went flying over the cliff into the dark abyss below, that Asriel noticed something... Interesting. After realizing that his failed attempts to catch the posters were useless, his attention was drawn to a rectangular shaped item stuck between a few rocks just over the edge of the cliff. Careful not to fall into the empty nothingness along with the lost papers, Asriel took hold of the object and attempted to wiggle it loose.

A book?

It had no title; in fact, the only thing on the tattered hardcover was an outline of large hand with long, slender fingers and a hole in its palm, a white number "3" in the center. For a moment, Asriel only stared at it, before realizing that he was standing at the edge of a rather dangerous cliff and he backed up against the wall. Gingerly, he lifted the cover, opening to the very first page.

"Property of..." he quietly read aloud, but where this person's name should have been, the page was torn. He turned the page, continuing to read. "Today marks the sixth year since I've began my research. So many secrets uncovered that only I have experienced about both humans and monsters. This could be the start of a huge breakthrough! I'm so close!" Asriel's eyes lit up as he flipped through the damp, water damaged pages, neat handwriting and beautiful illustrations displayed across each one. Diagrams of the different types of souls, the levels of power within each type of monster. Even simple, strange occurrences and beings had been recorded, such as eyes that didn't seem to belong to anything that watched you through dark caverns, and weird locked doors within the forest that didn't seem to have any purpose. Asriel's smile only fell as he reached one page in particular.

The author's neat writing had grown sloppy and uneven. Asriel could hear the panic and fear within the words as he read them. "Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I'm being watched. I have made mistakes bigger than anything I'm able to fix. I have no one left to confide in and I feel as if I can't trust anyone anymore. That little brat is watching my every move and I must hide this book before she finds it. I don't know how much longer I have left." Asriel stared quizzically at this page, the large, uneven handwriting surrounded with odd symbols and three words scribbled messily underneath it all: "TRUST NO ONE!"

Asriel closed the book, confused and uneasy, yet also very intrigued. Who could have written this? What were they trying to accomplish? What could have happened to them? Questions of all sorts raced through his mind.

"HEY AZZY!"

Asriel screamed, almost dropping the book into the water. He quickly hid it behind his back as Frisk stepped out of the shadows, laughing hysterically. "H- hey!" he shouted, annoyed. "What was that for?!"

"What?" Frisk said, still giggling. "I just said hi! I felt bad that you had to leave so soon to do something so boring, so I thought I'd come out here and help you. You need to stop being so jumpy."

Asriel took in a deep breath. "Okay, I'm sorry. Just wasn't expecting anyone to just suddenly show up like that."

"It's fine." Frisk told him, then tilted her head, looking at him sideways. "Hey, what's that you got there?"

"Um... Nothing, just the posters." He attempted to cover up the journal with a few papers.

"No, no, I mean that book thing. Where'd you get it?" Asriel didn't answer and Frisk let out an exasperated sigh. "Ugh, come on! Let me see it! Are you really not gonna show me?"

Asriel thought for a moment. He couldn't keep anything from Frisk, especially something like this. She was bound to find out eventually, anyway. "It's..." he started to speak, only to trail off as he suddenly felt as if something was... Staring at him. He glanced around the empty area only to find that there was no one around besides Frisk. "Uh... Maybe we should go somewhere a little more private."

* * *

"It's amazing, isn't it? I mean, look at all this! Magic spells, strange occurrences..."

"Looks like a lot of weird, nerdy science stuff to me."

"It's not...! Okay, yeah, but here, look at what he's talking about! Making a monster soul the equivalent of a human soul! Expanding the power within them, making them stronger than ever before! He's talking about accomplishing what's supposed to be impossible!" Asriel paced around in circles as he spoke, staring intently at the pages within the peculiar journal he held, covered in dirt and dust.

It was only after Frisk had found him in Waterfall with the decrepit book, that the two children found themselves racing back towards the house, completely forgetting about their assigned task. Asriel didn't care though. Knowing Papyrus, he'd have probably put up enough posters in Hotland for the both of them.

Now, here Frisk sat on the couch, her knees tucked up to her chest, listening to Asriel ramble on and on, excitedly voicing his thoughts and theories. "...And creepiest of all!" he had said loudly, once again shoving the book in his sister's face. "Here! See this? The pages?"

"They're... Blank?"

"Exactly! They just suddenly stop. The guy just... Disappears! And based on the page before, I'm pretty sure that whatever happened to him wasn't very nice."

Frisk let out an exaggerated gasp. "Do you realize what this means?! Maybe this break won't be so terrible after all!"

Asriel grinned. "Maybe, I don't know. But this thing does score it a few points."

"No, think about it! You and me! Going on adventures, solving the mystery behind where the mysterious creepy author guy went!" she said jokingly.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's gonna happen." Asriel laughed sarcastically. However, deep down, he could not shake off that curious feeling that lingered through his mind. Perhaps this was just what he needed; something to keep himself occupied, something to keep him thinking. A knock on the door suddenly broke Asriel out of his thoughts and he glanced back in its direction, confused. They weren't used to getting any visitors at the skeleton brothers' house. He turned back to face Frisk who had suddenly sat straight up and began racing over to the door. "Whoa!" Asriel grabbed her by her arm, holding her back. "Who's at the door?"

"Oh yeeeaaaahh..." she laughed nervously, wriggling her arm out of her sibling's grasp. "About that. I met someone today and now, surprise! I've got a date!"

Asriel blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm going. On. A date." Frisk repeated slowly.

"Wait, so you're telling me, that in the half hour I was gone, before you came to find me, you went and... Somehow found a boyfriend?"

"Not a boyfriend necessarily, he just asked me out and I said okay. Why is this so surprising? I was just trying to be nice, and plus, I'm a pretty likeable person!"

Asriel opened his mouth to make another retort, but a second knock was enough to get him to simply sit back down on the couch as Frisk dashed over to open the door. Asriel glanced over to see another monster enter the room. He was short, not much taller than Frisk, and wore a dark, oversized hoodie, the hood pulled so far over his face, Asriel could barely make out the small, beady eyes that stared out at him from underneath.

"Welcome to my home for the break!" Frisk told the strange monster after greeting him brightly. He only nodded silently, but seemed happy nonetheless.

"Hm. Who's this?" Sans's voice was heard and Asriel snapped his gaze over in his direction to see him standing next to him behind the couch, a bottle of ketchup in his hand. It always disgusted Asriel how the skeleton could just drink it straight from the bottle, while Frisk however just found it funny.

"TOM!" the strange monster suddenly shouted in reply. He sounded rather nervous, and his voice was higher pitched than they had expected.

And was Asriel seeing things, or did his entire face just move two inches to the left?

"Everyone, meet Tom! Tom, meet my brother, and Sans!" Frisk said.

Both Asriel and Sans each lifted one hand to substitute an awkward wave. "Hey." Asriel greeted the stranger, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Hoi- Hi." Tom stammered, keeping his arms at his sides, his face and hands twitching.

It was strange. After all the time he had been living in the Underground, Asriel was certain he had met everyone there was to meet, yet he couldn't seem to remember ever seeing anyone like Tom. Hell, he could barely tell if this monster had white fur or just really pale skin.

"Anyways," Frisk spoke up, breaking the moment of awkward silence. "Should we go?"

"Huh? Oh... Sure." Tom replied in that almost abnormally high pitched voice of his.

"Okay! Bye guys!" Frisk waved at them as she stepped outside.

"Have fun, kid." Sans told her.

"Later." Tom said before quickly shutting the door. He had said the word slowly, almost as if it felt uncomfortable in his mouth; as if he wasn't used to saying it.

Asriel watched the two through the window as they stepped further and further away from the house until they were out of sight. He mostly paid attention to Tom in particular, as the monster looked like he was tripping over his own feet. There was something so off about him, and no matter how hard he tried, Asriel just couldn't seem to figure out what it was.

"Something on your mind, kiddo?" Sans asked.

"Huh? No..." Asriel replied, not entirely focused. "Well... I don't know. There's just something weird about that guy. You noticed it too, right?"

"Nope." Sans shrugged, making Asriel frown. "What? I'm no detective! Look, don't sweat it. It's probably just your... I dunno, brotherly instincts getting in the way."

"Brotherly instincts?" Asriel repeated disdainfully, then shook his head. "No, there's something going on. I know it!"

"I don't know what to tell you then." Sans sighed as he headed back towards the kitchen. "Look, I know you're gonna wanna do something, but just try not to get your sister upset. I don't wanna have to deal with any 'sibling rivalry' junk or anything."

Asriel laid back in his seat, staring at the ceiling. He had to admit that, for once, Sans did have a point. If there really was something wrong with Tom, he would have to figure out what it was in a way that did not involve Frisk. Just as the thought entered his mind, Asriel's eyes were drawn towards the old, tattered book that lied next to him on the couch. Once again, he opened it up, flipping through the pages. He wasn't certain of what he was searching for exactly, but if the journal could help him in any way, he wasn't about to waste the opportunity. "This is stupid..." he thought to himself. "You're just being paranoid." Even he couldn't understand why he was so set on proving that there was something going on. How was he so sure that the book had all the answers in the first place?

But that's when he saw it.

An illustration of a strange being wrapped in a cloak, the hood casting a shadow over their face, a pair of dark, beady eyes staring out menacingly from underneath. Asriel quickly skimmed the caption above it: "Though few monsters have a form of a shapeshifting ability, never before have I seen anything such as this. It has been mentioned several times throughout human folklore and mythology, yet certain experiences have lead me to believe it might actually exist. Beware of the notorious creature known as the Shapeshifter."

Asriel gasped as he stared at the page before him. This wasn't the first time he had heard of shapeshifters. He had read about them in old storybooks that came from the Surface; ones which both him and Frisk had found at the garbage dump. They would tell about how the creature would deceive humans by shifting into a different form, sometimes kidnapping or killing them afterwards. Frisk had told him that they were only fictional, that humans had thought them up for the sake of the story, but was that really the case? After all, when he considered Tom's strange behaviour and appearance, everything seemed to add up. It could explain why Asriel hadn't been able to recognize what type of monster he was, and how his face was able to move around so peculiarly. And those small, dark, round eyes of his... They were identical to the ones the author had drawn in the book. Could it be a hint towards what he really was?

The door suddenly swung open and Asriel looked up to see Papyrus enter the room. "Hey, Papyrus." he greeted him, closing the journal and hiding it underneath a couch cushion. "Finished putting the posters up?"

"Oh! There you are!" Papyrus announced. "I tried to find you on my way back from Hotland, but my attempts proved to be unsuccessful, so I just came back."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I got done early... I guess." Asriel lied, not bothering to mention he had only gotten about halfway through Waterfall before he found the journal.

"No need to apologize," Papyrus told him. "These signs are sure to do the trick! Undyne will be so happy when she sees all the applications that will have been sent in!" Asriel knew for a fact that half of those applications would be from Papyrus himself. "Oh! And I passed by the Human and her friend as I was walking back. You didn't tell me she had made a new friend!"

Asriel chuckled halfheartedly. "Well it was sort of news to me as well." he thought for a moment. "Did... Did anything seem weird about the guy she was with?"

"No, not really." Papyrus answered. "He was very nice, had a lot of trouble speaking though. I think he might be foreign. Why? Is something wrong?"

Asriel glanced back at the journal, concealed under the cushion. "No, just wondering."

"Then on that note, I need to go find Sans. Have you seen him?"

"Uh, yeah, he just went into the kitchen."

"Thank you, Tiny Asgore!"

Asriel watched carefully as the skeleton marched out the room, before jumping out of his seat, grabbing the journal and racing out the door. His best friend could be in danger, and he wasn't about to simply stand by and watch as she was kidnapped by a shapeshifter, of all things. The first step to rescuing her: figuring out where she was.

* * *

"So you really haven't seen a lot of the Underground, have you?"

"No, I... Suppose not..."

"Oh wow! I've been pretty much everywhere and it's so cool! I actually thought that everyone down here had seen everything there was to see. I should show you!" Tom didn't respond to Frisk's offer, in fact, he almost looked as if he was trying to keep himself together. "Hey, you okay there?"

"Huh? Oh, of course. I'm fine." Tom replied. He was noticeably shaking. Perhaps from the Nice Cream they had gotten earlier? It was rather high in sugar, after all. Regardless, he had been fairly quiet, mostly letting Frisk talk the whole time. Sometimes he seemed to stare off into space or almost run directly into a wall... That was to his right. Despite all of that, Frisk was having a rather nice time, and though Tom obviously wasn't the brightest person around, she thought he could make a good friend if they spent more time together.

"FRISK!"

That voice. That voice that came from behind her; that all too familiar voice that shouted her name was her first surprise that day. For the one thing she had not expected on this date was to see her brother, Asriel, running faster than his feet could carry him, towards both her and Tom, that old book he had found tucked under his arm.

Frisk sighed, turning towards Tom, whose hands were shaking so much she almost felt worried for him. "Excuse me for a second." Tom simply nodded and turned around to stare at the wall. Frisk then dashed over to Asriel, confused.

What was he doing there?

Asriel's pace slowed to a stop as he tried to catch his breath. By the looks of it, he had ran all the way from the house to Waterfall, just next to Undyne's place, nonstop.

"Hey, what on earth are you doing here?" Frisk asked in an annoyed, yet also confused tone.

"Frisk...! Listen!" Asriel panted. "There's... There's something I have to tell you...! Oh my God, I think I'm gonna die..."

"Well can you just hurry up and say it? I'm kind of on a date here, if you haven't noticed."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about! You need to get out of here now! Tom, he's..." Asriel trailed off for just a moment as he looked up to the strange monster staring at him blankly, his eyes wide... Or was it the journal he was staring at so curiously? Whichever it was, Asriel quickly lowered his voice and pulled his sister over to the side of the room. "Look, there's something weird about him and I think I've figured out what's going on."

Frisk let out a sigh of frustration. "Oh, come on. Sure, I know he's a bit quirky, but he's just a normal guy, okay? Since when did you start getting into weird conspiracy stuff anyway?"

"Since always, and it's not 'weird conspiracy stuff'! I'm trying to tell you that Tom is not what he seems!" Asriel quickly opened the book to the shapeshifter page, letting Frisk see for herself.

Or at least that's what he wanted to do. Instead of a drawing of the elusive shapeshifter, Frisk found herself staring at a drawing of a rather familiar small, fuzzy and odd-looking creature. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What are Temmies doing in there?"

"Wait what?" Asriel glanced back at the book. "Oh, wait. Sorry! My mistake!" He flipped back through the pages until he found the correct one. "There!"

"A shapeshifter? Really?" Frisk said, an unimpressed expression appearing on her face. "Very funny, Azzy. Come on! He's a really nice person! Why can't you trust me on this one?"

"Look, I'm just trying to warn you. I know that you think I'm being crazy but I really think that Tom could be hiding something. It all seems to add up! The fact that we've never seen any monster like him before..."

"I dunno, I thought he looked sort of familiar." Frisk shrugged.

"...He doesn't even seem like he's used to his own feet..."

"Everyone can be a bit clumsy at times!"

"His face moves, Frisk!" Asriel suddenly shouted. "It moves... Not like our faces, but it just moves! It_"

"Okay!" Frisk interrupted, raising her voice. "Look, I don't care what you think! Tom is a good friend and I will not stand here and listen to you falsely accuse him of something so ridiculous!" Asriel almost looked taken aback by her response. Normally, Frisk was so much more calm and collected, even in the worst situations. He hadn't expected her to react in any way such as this. She took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I'll see you back at the house."

Walking back over towards Tom, Frisk couldn't believe what she had just been told; by Asriel especially. He wasn't one act in such a ludicrous manner.

A shapeshifter! Of all things for him to accuse someone of, he had to go with the shapeshifter.

"Is everything okay?" Tom asked her, a sternness hidden in his pitched voice. Had he been listening in on their conversation?

"Yeah," Frisk replied. "Just my dork brother being a dork. Anyway, let's get out of here. I have so much to show you!"

"...Of course." he muttered quietly. A shadow cast over his face as he spoke, and for a split second, Frisk caught a glimpse of those two dark, beady eyes of his, staring out from underneath his hood.

* * *

For whatever reason, neither Sans or Papyrus actually owned a dining table. Though the two of them were quite used to it as of now, both Asriel and Frisk were more accustomed to sitting around the table at dinner time, telling stories and spending time together with their parents. Though they did this in a similar fashion at the skeleton brothers' home, instead of a table, the four of them were all gathered around the couch, each night switching between whichever two had to sit on the floor, and whichever two had the comfort of the old, worn out sofa. The children made do with the situation, however, as it wasn't a major inconvenience for them.

Only, often enough, supper time wasn't the most talkative time of the day, only Papyrus reminding everyone of what his usual daily agenda consisted of. Normally, it would get so quiet, Sans would end up putting on whatever happened to be on TV to break the silence. Tonight, however, they had the pleasure of listening to Frisk blather on about the afternoon she had spent with Tom. Actually, the term "listening" may be a bit of an exaggeration, as at this point, Asriel had gotten lost in his thoughts and Sans was trying his best to stay at least half awake. Papyrus seemed to be the only one who was actually paying full attention to what she was saying, not surprisingly.

"...And it was really weird because he'd never even seen the Hotland Lab before," Frisk went on.

 _What isn't weird about that guy?_ Asriel thought, snapping back into reality.

"I would have shown him, but Alphys wasn't there and the door was locked."

"Hmm... Sounds like... A bit of a recluse... Or something..." Sans muttered tiredly.

"He's not a recluse," Frisk told him. "He just lives a more... Introverted life! Kind of like Asriel! Honestly, you can barely get him to go outside."

"Hey, that's not true!" Asriel spoke up. "I go to Waterfall all the time!"

Frisk laughed, looking down at him from the couch. "Yeah, to read in some isolated cave or wherever."

Well... Asriel couldn't even deny that part.

It was then that Papyrus began to glance at everyone's empty dishes, making sure they were all finished before getting to his feet. "Alright!" he said loudly. "It looks as though everybody has finished their spaghetti! Sans, would you help me carry these to the kitchen? Sans?"

Sans then suddenly snapped awake. "Huh? Oh yeah... That. Sure."

The two of them then gathered everyone's dishes together, and Asriel could only catch Papyrus mumbling something like, "are you sure you've been getting enough sleep lately?" to Sans before they both disappeared into the other room.

Asriel then glanced in Frisk's direction. When she had first returned back home, he had thought she was still mad at him. Why wouldn't she be? Not only had he accused her new possible boyfriend of being some nonexistent creature from human folklore, but also greatly embarrassed both her, and himself, in front of the guy too! Honestly, he may as well have just stood outside the front door, screaming that he was insane. Much to his surprise however, his sister instead greeted him with a smile just as she always did. But on the other hand, when the image of Tom popped into Asriel's head, as much as he tried to tell himself otherwise, there was still something so off about him. But if it wasn't a shapeshifter, what else could it be?

"You okay?" Frisk asked him, and Asriel turned to face her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just..." he replied along with a loud sigh. "I'm sorry about earlier. For going all crazy and conspiracy-y."

"No, it's okay, really!" Frisk assured him. "I may have overreacted a little and I get it, Tom is... A little weird. But down here, who isn't?"

She had a point there.

"I know. It's just with the journal and everything..." he exhaled. "Just be careful, okay? I've heard some weird stories about the forest around here and Tom is someone we've -somehow- never met before."

"Oh, don't worry about me!" Frisk laughed. "I'll be fine! Trust me, I've dealt with people a lot worse, and Tom's actually a pretty cool guy! I'll be A-OK on my own."

"Well... If you say so." Asriel wanted to believe it, truly, but somehow, for some reason, he couldn't seem to bring himself to.

"Speaking of which..." Frisk muttered, suddenly climbing overtop of her brother to get a better look out the window.

"Hey-!" Asriel said, trying to push her off of him, but that's when he saw it too.

At first, he thought it was rather curious to see someone heading towards the house at a time such as this. Most monsters would have already retired back to their homes for the night. It was only when he realized who this someone was that Asriel found the situation even more perplexing. "What's he doing here? Didn't you just spend the entire afternoon together?"

"I don't know." Frisk said, genuinely confused as to why Tom was walking up to her front door when they had only said goodbye to each other a little over an hour ago. "Maybe he forgot something here."

"What would he have brought here to forget? He was only in here for about five minutes."

Frisk thought for a moment. "Well I'm out of guesses. I'll just go see what he wants. Hopefully it's nothing too big a deal." She grinned wryly as she headed towards the front door. "I'll try not to get eaten by the 'spooky shapeshifter'!"

Asriel let out a quiet, halfhearted laugh as his sister then stepped out into the cold, closing the door behind her. Getting up off the floor, the young monster then flopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote. He turned on the television, only to see the familiar colorful bars flickering across the screen, and a message reading, "STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM -MTT."

 _Again?_

Sighing to himself, Asriel instead turned towards the window. There, he could see Frisk talking with Tom, and though he couldn't quite see his face, he did not look happy. Asriel glanced to his left, expecting to see the journal sitting next to him on the couch, only to suddenly remember he had left it on his nightstand in the attic. He had wished he had had it with him at the moment, but honestly, even if he had gone to get it, he wouldn't have known what he wanted to search it for.

It was unusual... How he was so drawn to the old black book, the unknown hand on the front cover, with its long, spindly fingers. After all, Asriel had always been drawn towards the stranger side of things, but he had never been one to express these types of interests to anyone so greatly. Even he wondered as to why he felt that book was so important. Once again, he thought about bringing it down from the attic, but he only silently shook his head at himself. He didn't need it right now. Well, he'd never really need it, would he? After all, it wasn't as if some creature or unknown magical force was about to suddenly pop out of nowhere- wait, where did Frisk go?

Just as he had turned back towards the window, Asriel immediately noticed that where both his sister and her boyfriend had been standing previously, the spot was now vacant, leaving a dark, empty street, the few lights that were still on casting eerie shadows on the snow. Slowly, he approached the door and poked his head outside. The town was voiceless, utterly silent. It gave off an unearthly feeling that made shivers go up and down Asriel's back. Carefully stepping outside of the comfort of the house, he scanned the area. The only real evidence he could see that proved his sister had ran off somewhere else, were two specific pairs of footprints tracked in the snow. They looked newer than the various other ones surrounding them, and Asriel hesitated as he began to follow them, noticing they lead him right out of the little town, stretching in the direction of the forest for what looked like miles and miles.

"Oh boy..." he huffed. This was going to take forever! Perhaps it would be best if he just headed back to the house. Frisk couldn't be in any real danger, could she?

But Asriel froze as he had soon followed the trails of footprints all the way to the end of the town's welcoming sign. He simply couldn't help but notice that one pair of prints... Had changed. Instead of the pattern of the bottom of someone's shoe embedded into the snow, there was now a long trail of tiny, almost perfectly round feet. Though as Asriel fixed his gaze on the patch of snow to his right, he caught sight of what looked like the imprint of a body -a humanoid body- being dragged away through the cold by someone...

...Or something.

An alarm went off in Asriel's brain as only one word, and one word only shot through his mind like a rocket.

 _Shapeshiftershapeshiftershapeshiftershapeshifter SHAPESHIFTER._

He immediately whipped around, dashing towards the house, kicking up snow behind him, getting it in his shoes and soaking the bottoms of his pant legs, but he didn't care. He had been right! For the first time in his life, he had been right about something huge! He almost felt like celebrating, only to instantly remember that his sibling was about to be eaten by some mythological beast from human literature.

But he had been right!

Asriel flung open the door, barely noticing Sans sitting on the couch, busy fiddling with the remote, and raced up towards the attic, his footsteps echoing on the wooden staircase. He came back down only a few mere seconds later, the journal tucked and hidden underneath his arm. If he hadn't needed it before, he definitely needed now.

He had thought he heard Sans say something to him as he had headed back outside, but he wasn't listening. His mind was now cluttered with both anxiety and pride, but this was no time to celebrate his triumph, he knew, and worry suddenly took over his cluster of emotions. Asriel slowed down to a stop, running his hand through the fur on his head, staring in the direction of the forest. At minimum, it would take at least half an hour to get there, which in that time, Frisk may have already been devoured by the creature. He had to get there fast, somehow. Lucky for him, just as the thought entered Asriel's head, he saw his solution, walking towards the house, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.

"Undyne!" he called, racing over to her. She looked startled, but laughed at how frantic he seemed.

"Whoa, hey, punk! Whatcha doing out here? It's freezing! The only reason I'm here is because I left one of Alphys's history books in there." She jabbed a thumb towards the house.

Asriel looked at her with a confused expression. History book? Did she mean that comic book from earlier?

Never mind! That wasn't the point! "Undyne! Listen! Frisk's in trouble and also really far away and I don't know how to get to her because I think she might be in the forest which probably isn't that great because she's been kidnapped by this shapeshifter freak, which I did tell her, but she didn't believe me_"

"Okay, okay! If you want me to help, you're gonna have to shut up for a second." Undyne interrupted his spiel, laughing once again before taking on a more serious tone. "What's going on?"

Asriel let out a frustrated sigh. "I gotta get somewhere quick and I need your help!"

Undyne nodded, thinking before a crooked grin crossed her face. "Come on. I think I've got something that could be handy."

Asriel then found himself struggling to keep up with the warrior as she dashed over to a worn down shed on the skeleton brother's property, taking long strides. Asriel had taken note of that old shed almost as soon as he had arrived at his break home. The wood was damp and covered in mold and the place gave off a weird stench that he couldn't quite place. Needless to say, he tried to stay away from it as much as possible. However, today he barely seemed to notice any of that as Undyne ripped open the door (which Asriel was sure had been locked), and the two of them stepped inside.

Whatever the young prince had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. It appeared to be a vehicle of some sort, but was different somehow. Monsters didn't have automobiles or anything of that category in the Underground, other than the occasional ice cream cart, but Asriel still knew what they looked like. He had seen them in some of those shows and cartoons Alphys liked to collect. This thing, though, he couldn't quite place. It didn't have any doors and the top was covered by some kind of old, dirty tarp.

"Like it?" Undyne asked proudly. "Built it myself!" She paused. "Actually, it was mostly Alphys who did all the work, but we found all these pieces at the dump! Alphys said that she wanted to design it after this thing she saw on TV. She said it's called a 'golf cart', which is weird because it doesn't look like it has anything to do with golf."

Asriel quickly jumped in the front seat, almost surprised at how well put together the vehicle seemed, especially since Undyne supposedly helped work on it. "You're letting me use this?" he asked in amazement. The red headed monster nodded. "Really?"

Undyne laughed. "Yeah! Sure! I mean, someone's gotta test it out, right?"

A worried look crossed the young monster's face. "You don't know if it works?"

Undyne shrugged. "It might. Hopefully. Only one way to find out, I guess. Pull that lever there beside you! I'm pretty sure that's how you start it up."

Asriel felt a little unsure at how uninformed she seemed, but he took hold of the rusted lever and pulled it back. The cart let out a low rumble as it started up. "Yes!" Undyne cheered. "It works! Aw, man! Wait until Alphys hears this! This is great! Oh, hey! Maybe don't tell Sans or Papyrus I'm keepin' this thing in their shed. We just didn't have anywhere to put it... And I didn't tell them." she added sheepishly.

"Of course!" Asriel said excitedly, before accidentally stepping on the gas pedal and the cart jerked forward, startling him. He sat up again, placing his hands on the steering wheel. He had never driven anything before, but he knew that he had to be careful. If he was going to save Frisk, that also meant he had to be alive in doing so.

Undyne helped lead the cart out into the snow, and Asriel found it surprising that it even fit through the doorway. The machine creaked as he sat back down in the driver's seat, pulling the lever back. With a last quick thanks to Undyne, he went speeding down through the town, almost a little too fast for comfort, but that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was getting his sibling back home and that was the one and only thing he intended to do.

* * *

Frisk awoke with a start, feeling both cold and uncomfortable. She was sitting alone in the middle of a wooded area, leaning against an aged, dead tree stump. Bits of snow were tangled in her hair and in the fabric of her sweater. Her head ached and her fingers brushed over a large bruise as she reached up to touch it. Who could blame her for feeling miserable? At least she knew where she was, for the most part. The woodland that surrounded her was the familiar Snowdin Forest, with the tall, skeletal trees that no one could quite explain as to how they got down there. Frisk was never fond of this area of the Underground. It was far too dark for her taste, and gave off an unknown, sinister vibe that made her want to run as far away as she could.

But the most troubling part about this situation, was the how she had gotten to this part of the Underground in the first place. She could barely recall what she had been doing before. Last she remembered, she had been talking to Tom and then... Nothing. Did he have something to do with this? After all, he had been acting quite strange before she had blacked out; more than he had all day.

A loud rustling noise sounded in Frisk's ears and she whipped around. Nothing. Nothing at all. Was it simply her imagination? Yes. That's what she was going to stick with. If she was going to be out here for any longer, she definitely did not want to know if anything was watching her. But the noise didn't cease. Frisk cowered in fear as it grew louder and louder, and then...

A fuzzy little creature emerged from the darkness, scuffling up towards her, a laughable expression on its round face. It looked similar to a cat -maybe a dog as well- with two puffs of what was most likely fur sticking out on both sides of its head. Frisk immediately recognized this creature as a Temmie. She had seen, even met a few before on her first journey through the Underground back in Waterfall. But wait, what was it doing all the way out here? The creature froze mid-step and stared at the child for a moment before retreating back into the trees, spouting what sounded like nonsense to Frisk, in a shrill, peppy tone that echoed in the air.

For a brief moment, all was silent, when the loud footsteps of at least fifteen more Temmies stepped out of the shadows, a few of them having stacked themselves into a tower, the one of top sitting as if they were on a throne, atop its head... A graduation cap? Frisk stared at the scene in disbelief and wonderment before the leader Temmie adjusted its hat, letting a goofy expression cross its face. "HOI!" it greeted her loudly, before clearing its throat, its face softening into a more sophisticated appearance. "Greetings, young human. You recognize us, I presume?"

Okay, this was definitely not how Frisk remembered Temmies. "Y- yes?" she stammered, her statement sounding more like a question. "I've seen you guys before in Waterfall... What's going on?"

The leader Temmie cocked its head to the side, staring at her quizzically. Was she supposed to be remembering something else? She studied their faces. Something did seem awfully familiar about them. Realization suddenly hit her as she noticed the height of the tower they had formed, the high pitched voice, the Temmie in the background dragging the oversized hoodie in its mouth. She could barely form words as the entire situation dawned on her. Tom. This, was Tom. A stack of Temmies hiding their identities underneath an old jacket.

It was almost too ridiculous to be real.

"...Judging by the sudden change in your expression," Leader Temmie went on. "I'm going to assume I'm correct."

Frisk stood up, only to sit back down again on the dead tree stump she had previously been leaning against. She almost felt like bursting out with laughter. This had to have been a dream! "Wow..." she instead muttered. "I... What? Why would you do this?"

Leader Temmie took in a deep breath. "Alright, alright, I'll explain. So... We're not Tom, in fact, I'm Tem, and down here," it gestured towards the Temmies that made up the tower. "We have Temmie, Temmie, Temmie, and..." he paused. "I apologize, I keep forgetting your name."

"Bob." the last Temmie replied in a monotonous voice.

"Bob!" Leader Temmie exclaimed. "That's right!" It turned its attention back towards Frisk, taking on a more serious tone. "Anyway, I realize that this must be an awkward state of affairs for the both of us, but there are some very urgent matters I must bring to your attention."

"And why didn't you just talk to me like a normal person?! Instead of kidnapping me and... Knocking me out?" she gestured to the bruise on her forehead.

Oh, who was she kidding? Temmies weren't normal!

"We had to make sure we were talking to the right person, as we'd have rather not brought this to anyone else's attention other than yours, and possibly your brother's if he's got anything to do with it."

"Wait, what?"

Leader Temmie let out a long sigh. "We have reason to believe you have taken something very important from us. Something we most truly want- Need, back."

"What?" Frisk jumped to her feet. "I haven't taken anything from you! I haven't even been to your village for... Well, years now!"

"Do not lie to us. We've seen your brother with it!" Leader Temmie's voice grew harsher every word. "Give it back to us NOW."

Frisk didn't like angry Temmie. Before then, she didn't even think Temmies could get angry. They were supposed to be unintelligent balls of fluff that didn't know how to speak properly! What was going on?! "I swear! I didn't steal anything!" Frisk insisted. "I don't steal! My brother didn't take anything either! I don't even think he knows you all exist! Look, I wish I could help you guys, but_"

"LIAR! You had no right to take it, and you have no right to fib about it! Give us back our book, or pay the price!"

Frisk suddenly went rigid. "Hang on, what book_?"

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Both Frisk and the Temmies snapped their gaze towards what looked like a large vehicle smashing into a tree and a short figure jumping out of it, racing towards the poor human. "Step back!" the figure shouted as it stood in front of her.

"Wait, Asriel?" Frisk spoke up.

"Stay back, you shapeshifter..." Asriel's voice trailed off as he finally realized what he was actually looking at. "Um... Frisk? What's going on?"

"Tom turned out to be a bunch of Temmies stacked on top of each other."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"Well, well, if it isn't Asriel Dreemurr!" Leader Temmie announced. "I would say that it's an honour to meet you, but unfortunately your sister has just made a huge mistake. We were going to try this the easy way, but it's clear now that we'll have to resort to other methods. AFTER THEM!"

"Frisk, tell me what is going on!"

"It doesn't matter! We have to run!"

Asriel nodded, then grabbed his sister's arm, racing over towards the golf cart. He winced as he realized he had crashed it into a tree, but shook it off as they both jumped in the front seats. They had much worse things to worry about. Frisk gasped as she examined the inside of the machine. "Whoa! Where did you get this thing?!"

"Undyne." he quickly answered, starting up the engine and speeding back through the forest. Keeping his gaze fixed ahead, Asriel grasped the journal off the floor next to him, tossing it over to Frisk. "Here!" he shouted over the wind rushing past them as they drove. "Turn to the page on Temmies and read it! We might need know to something!"

"I dunno," Frisk said. "They're pretty small. You think they'd catch up with us all that quickly?"

She had spoke too soon. They both knew she had just as they heard what sounded like thousands of footsteps, and they glanced behind them to see a swarm of Temmies charging at them through the woods, some piled on top of each other, creating an immense shadow that loomed over the siblings as they raced over. "Frisk!" Asriel shouted as he slammed his foot on the gas pedal. "Read!"

Frisk nodded, flipping through the journal's pages. "Wait, here! I found it!" She began read aloud, skipping through most of it, "Temmies: Cute little creatures scattered all around Waterfall. Though they're supposed to be of the monster race, they're too strange to have not been studied... Blah, blah, blah, um... Oh! Weaknesses...!" Frisk frowned. "Weaknesses unknown."

"Ugh! Great!" Asriel shouted as they reached the end of the forest.

The Temmies were gaining on them, their high pitched shouts of "HOI!" and "TEM!" echoing in their ears. A few of them had even jumped into the cart, nipping at their arms, causing Frisk to have to throw each one of them out into the snow bank. Asriel was almost surprised they hadn't crashed or died yet. It seemed he too had thought too soon as a scream from Frisk suddenly cut through the air and Asriel's eyes widened as they flew directly off a cliff and were now plunging to the ground. They let out a scream of terror as the cart tumbled in the air, before crashing on its wheels into the snow. Asriel tugged on the lever, trying to start it up again, but it just wouldn't budge.

Frisk glanced up at him, still in shock from the rush of adrenaline. "Did you break it?"

Asriel slowly nodded. "I definitely broke it."

A loud thud sounded from behind them as the Temmies jumped down from the cliff themselves, landing perfectly on their feet. The two children fled from the cart, attempting to escape once more, but the snow only got deeper as they ran, causing them both to trip over their own feet and tumble over onto their backs. Knowing they had no other options, Asriel snatched the journal out of his sister's hands, searching for something, anything, that could help them.

The voice of Leader Temmie echoed overhead from the top of the mountain of the fuzzy creatures, "it's the end of the line! Just give up! Own up to what you've done and return what is rightfully ours!"

"What?!" Asriel shouted, struggling to stand, but kept on slipping to the point where he just gave up.

"I don't know!" Frisk told him. "They think we stole some book from them!"

"Don't play dumb with us! You're holding it! It's right there!" Leader Temmie shrieked, pointing at the journal.

"Huh? No, no!" Asriel said. "I found this stuck between_" But his words meant nothing to them. Leader Temmie hopped down from the mountain and seized the book, dusting it off and smiling at the cover. "H-hey! Wait!"

The leader only placed it on the ground, gawking proudly at it. "Perhaps you should learn to keep your hands off of other people's property." it sneered at them. "Anyways, now that we have what we need, I'm afraid that..." It stopped mid-sentence, and the cocky look it wore suddenly disappeared off its face. Other Temmies gathered around, whispering in their pitched voices, using words and expressions only they could comprehend. Asriel and Frisk exchanged a look and glanced back at Leader Temmie. "I don't understand..." it murmured. "What happened to it? Why is it different?! There was never a 'three' on it!"

"I think," Asriel stood up, brushing off his shirt and snatching the journal away from the small creatures. "That you may have the wrong people. That is my book. I found it in Waterfall stuck between some rocks. Before today, I've never even heard of you guys before, much less where you live. Frisk didn't do anything either."

"But... But..." Leader Temmie stuttered, clearly distraught. "Our book... We were supposed to protect it... He told us..." it stopped for a moment and looked at them, worry in its eyes. "You wouldn't have happened to see another book just like that one?"

"We're sorry," Frisk replied. "We wish we could help."

"'Wish' is a strong word." Asriel muttered, earning a light punch in the arm from his sister.

Leader Temmie looked down at the ground in shame, saying something in their little language to its army, then they all slowly began to trot away. It turned to face them one last time. "We sincerely apologize. But if you happen to see another young lady with a book such as yours, would you please let us know? It's very important to us that we get it back."

The siblings nodded in response, then watched as the Temmies retreated back through the snow, disappearing into the trees.

For a brief moment, the two could only stare off into the distance, contemplating what they had just experienced. It was so confusing, yet terrifying, yet somehow felt so risible. Asriel heard Frisk starting to chuckle from her place beside him and it seemed he just couldn't help but join in. Soon enough, hysterical laughter was the only thing that could be heard from them, and Asriel fell backwards into the snow, the journal falling onto his face.

"So, I guess you've met Temmies now." Frisk said, still sniggering.

"Why have you never told me about them? That was amazing!"

"Heh... Guess I didn't think of it." she said, now only staring at her feet.

Asriel stopped laughing. "What's wrong?"

Frisk let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry... For not believing you about Tom. I mean, you were just trying to look out for me."

"What?" Asriel sat up straight. "No! If you had believed me, none of this would have happened! We wouldn't have almost died trying to escape from tiny, talking cats!" he paused for a moment. "They were cats, right?"

Frisk laughed. "Thanks, Azzy."

Asriel smiled before getting to his feet. "Anyway, now that that's settled, I need your help getting the golf cart, or whatever it's called, back into Sans and Papyrus's shed before Undyne sees it all busted up like this."

"Oh, yeah. She's gonna kill you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Could you just help me?"

Frisk nodded as the two of them headed over to the vehicle, Asriel quickly grabbing the journal off of the ground, and as he laid eyes on the torn cover of it once again, he grinned, flicking through each page as he walked. He almost couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found it. Perhaps this break was going to turn out better than...

Asriel slammed the book shut.

He hadn't just seen what he had thought he had seen... Had he?

No. That was impossible!

The dead, blank, auburn eyes of an all too familiar being flashed in his mind. But he had not seen those eyes in the book, had he?!

"Hey! Asriel!"

His gaze snapped up towards his sister, who was already standing by the cart, ready to go. "I-I'm coming!" he called back, quickening his pace. He didn't want to worry about that right now. It was his break off from school.

He didn't have time to think about the past.

* * *

Sans the skeleton leaned back into the couch, boredly staring at whatever program was playing on television. Some TV drama, starring that robot guy or whatever his name was. Sans never really paid any attention towards that sort of stuff.

He only tore his gaze away from the screen to see Papyrus groggily walk out from the kitchen, looking utterly exhausted. "Geez, buddy, you don't look so good."

Papyrus shook his head. "The Great Papyrus never considers any task to be completed until it has been perfected!" he announced. "Cleaning dishes is no exception!"

"I'd say you've been working yourself a little too hard," Sans told him, turning his attention back towards the television. "Helping Undyne find new recruits and all. You should go to bed. I can finish cleaning up around here."

Papyrus crossed his arms. "You? Cleaning up?" he asked his brother doubtfully. "That sounds nothing like you at all, Sans!"

"Hey, I can take responsibility. It's not that difficult, is it?"

Papyrus sighed. "Fine. But you also have to get some rest afterwards! You've been staying up too late! It's bad for your health!"

"Ehhh, fine." Sans shrugged. "If you say so."

"Well then, goodnight, brother!" the younger skeleton grinned before heading back upstairs towards his bedroom.

"'Night, Paps."

Sans watched carefully as his brother entered his room, closing the door behind him, before shutting off the TV. He glanced out the window.

It was dark out. The lights had been turned off and every soul in Snowdin Town was now sound asleep, dreaming peacefully. The kids had gone to bed too, hadn't they? He couldn't seem to remember. They had looked awfully tired as they had arrived back home a few hours before. Yes, he was sure. Everyone was asleep. Sans quickly looked around the room before getting up off the couch and, as quietly as he could, opened the door and stepped out into the cold night air. His feet crunched in the snow as he rounded the house, not a monster in sight to see wherever he was headed.

In no time at all, Sans had reached a large door on the other side of the house. It was a simple wooden one, paint peeling off of it, worn with age. Sans reached into his pocket, picking out a small, silver key, then quietly unlocking the door. It creaked loudly as he opened it, then did the same once again as he took one last look around the area, and closed it.

But as the skeleton had taken that one last look around, it seemed he had failed to notice a tall figure staring from afar, through the bushes and trees at the river's edge. The old torn, black cloak that hid their face trailed behind them off the raft they stood upon, and into the water. They had seen the silver key glinting in what little light was left at this time, and silently watched as the eldest skeleton brother hid away behind the strange door.

 _What an odd little fellow._

The faceless being turned, then began to traverse through the dark, murky waters down the river, quietly singing nonsense to themselves, their soft whispers echoing across the rocky walls of the Underground.

 _"Tra, la, la..."_


	2. Chapter 2, TETSTF (PREVIEW)

_Chapter 2, The Eyes that Sway the Frisk **(PREVIEW - STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS)**_

It was early. Much earlier than Asriel would have preferred to be awake at, that is. He was just beginning to see the first few lights of the day flicker on, and the usual small group of monsters in Snowdin Town groggily stepping out into the cold, all bundled up as they headed off to work. Asriel watched this all through the small window at his bedside in the attic, wrapped up in his blankets, trying to conserve as much warmth as he possibly could. Did it always have to be so chilly in the morning?

The small clock on the dusty, wooden dresser in the corner ticked loudly as the minutes dragged on by. It was now 6AM, again, much too early for Asriel's taste. Though as much as he wanted to, as much as he tried, he just couldn't seem to get back to sleep. He was too excited to sleep. It had been this way for the past week now, ever since the run-in with those Temmies. Though they weren't exactly "magnificent, legendary creatures", Asriel just couldn't help but wonder if something better was about to come into play. Perhaps something even more perplexing! More mysterious! He had now become very nearly obsessed with the journal, and often found himself studying every word, sometimes recording his own thoughts on whatever the subject was on the many blank pages in the back.

Though as excited and optimistic as he still was, Asriel was beginning to lose hope that any new adventures were in store. For it had been days, with no signs of anything unusual or even slightly intriguing. It was almost as if the whole "Tom" incident had only been some crazy dream, and he was now back in the ever-so-boring reality. Everything had just gone back to normal. But the experience still, so clearly, lingered in his mind, and he just couldn't help but wonder what else was out there.

Asriel wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there exactly, just staring absentmindedly out the foggy glass of that small window. It seemed like an eternity, however, before a loud crash downstairs made him jump. He whipped around to see a startled Frisk now sitting straight up in a tangle of bedsheets. "What was that?!" she asked, her messy hair sticking to her face.

"Don't know." Asriel replied excitedly, quickly getting to his feet and scrambling to fish the journal out from under his own bed. "Come on!"

"You sure you need the book? It's probably just Papyrus making breakfast or something."

"At six in the morning?"

Frisk shrugged tiredly. "Wouldn't be surprised."

Asriel rolled his eyes as he grabbed an old hoodie off his bed and threw it over his pyjamas to shield himself from the cold, clearly in a hurry. "Well we don't know that! Now come on!"

His sibling sighed, slowly getting out of bed and shuffling over to the door, trailing behind her brother as he ran towards the ladder that lead them back downstairs. This was the moment he had been waiting for! It had to be! Asriel wondered what it was. Perhaps one of those little humans with wings? A pixie, it had been called. The journal had described them as being rather mischievous and messy. They could have caused the loud noise right? No! Maybe it was a gremlin! Or a goblin! Or a combination of both!

A few quieter noises came from the kitchen as both Asriel and Frisk stepped into the living room. It sounded as if someone was fiddling with the pots and pans, and Frisk made another comment about how "it was only Papyrus", but Asriel barely heard it. He was not about to take his sister's word for it and miss a chance to witness something amazing. He could see the light on in the kitchen as he instead rounded the corner, listening for a moment, clutching the journal with excitement. Something cleared its throat, and Asriel whipped around.

"AH HA!" he shouted, pointing at a figure crouched by one of the cupboards.

"Good morning to you too." a tired, familiar voice said in reply.

Asriel's face fell into a frown as the figure stood up and turned to face him. It was then that Frisk wandered into the room, immediately spotting the source of all the racket. "Told you it was nothing." she mumbled, fairly annoyed that she had been dragged downstairs out of the comfort of her bed, only because of Sans who was... What was he doing?

Asriel sighed as he tucked the journal away in his hoodie, his excitement replaced with disappointment. "Sorry, Sans. I heard a bunch of noises and thought there was a..." He thought for a moment. "A burglar or... Something." Yes, a burglar sounded much less ridiculous than some creature from a creepy, unknown book.

"Didn't mean to wake you guys." Sans replied, rubbing his forehead exhaustedly. He looked even worse than the day before, and Asriel couldn't help but wonder if he had gotten any sleep at all last night.

"What were you doing out here?" Frisk asked. "It's not even noon yet."

The skeleton shrugged. "Nothing really. Was just hiding the spaghetti so Paps couldn't make it for breakfast again. Kinda just made a mess though, I guess." He glanced back towards one of the cupboards, various kitchen utensils poking out from behind the door. Frisk sniggered at his reply. Though Papyrus's "world famous" spaghetti had improved ever since he was first taught by Undyne, it wasn't something you wanted to have for every meal of every day, and based on Sans's actions, it seemed it wasn't only the two children who were completely sick of it by now. "Oh yeah. There should be some cereal under the sink as well, if you're hungry."

"Nice!" Frisk exclaimed, heading over to the abnormally tall sink and opening the cupboard underneath. It was Papyrus who had once explained why it was so high up. He had extended the height, as he apparently used to keep a large collection of bones behind the door, before small, white dog broke in and chewed the stash to bits. Asriel had since thought it to be empty, except for a few kitchen supplies, perhaps, but now Frisk was indeed holding up a jumbo box of MTT Charms. "It's even the good stuff too!" she gasped, now suddenly fully awake.

"Wow. Uh, thanks, Sans." Asriel said, retrieving a few bowls from the counter, inspecting them first to make sure they were clean, of course. He honestly wasn't quite sure of what to say however, as he would have never really expected anyone like Sans to do something like this for him or Frisk, although it could have been for his own benefit as well.

Once the two had prepared their early morning breakfast, they both sat on the floor in silence. It wasn't an eerie or uncomfortable silence, it was rather nice, actually. The dim light of the rest of the town glinting through the window, soft voices of the early birds outside; it was so peaceful. Asriel found himself wishing it was always this serene. He could live carefree with no worries or fears. He could live a quiet life with no one pestering him... But alas, it was only a thought. After all, he would probably miss the sense of adventure, the rush of excitement... Then again, how long would it be before something else so exhilarating came along?

"So," Frisk's voice broke the silence as she munched on her cereal. "What's the plan for today, Sans?"

Oh great. Asriel had completely forgotten about the work for today. Sans always seemed to have some form of never ending chores for them to do, and the young monster hoped they didn't have to work the stand again, as he was getting tired of the smell of hotdogs.

But to Asriel's surprise, the skeleton shrugged and replied, "y'know what? You two have been working hard for the past couple weeks. Take the day off. Go out and do whatever it is you kids like to do these days."

"Whoa, really?!" Frisk grinned.

"What? Did ya think I was gonna make you guys do chores the entire break?"

Though the honest response would have been "yes", Asriel simply let out an awkward chuckle and shook his head.

"Oh! Maybe we can go visit Mom and Dad!" Frisk suggested, then gasped. "And we could bring them a present! Surprise them with something!"

"Well let's not go too crazy." Asriel laughed. "I don't think we have a lot of money on us, and it would also be a fairly long walk from Snowdin all the way back home."

"Well couldn't we just get a ride from the River Person?" Frisk asked. "They usually don't mind taking us places." She was right, Asriel knew. Though it had been a while since he had spoken with the River Person, they were always eager to lend a hand... Maybe. It was hard to tell, as their face was always covered by the hood of their long, torn black cloak -Asriel had actually wondered if they even had a face- and they always spoke with the same soft, monotonous voice. Either way, Frisk did have a point. And they had the whole day to travel through the rest of Hotland too, so there really was no reason why they couldn't visit their parents.

"Well, whatever you decide to do, it doesn't matter to me," Sans told them, leaning adjacent to the counter. "As long as you don't get yourselves killed, I mean. I think I can guarantee that your mom would have my head on a stick if anything happened to you kids."

"I can assure you," Frisk began to giggle. "We won't BEHEADING for trouble, if that's what you mean."

"You better not be," Sans replied with a quiet chuckle. "Or we'd all LOSE OUR MINDS." No one could hold it in any longer, and the kitchen was suddenly filled with laughter. Even Asriel couldn't help but join in.

Who knew? Maybe today was going to play out better than expected.

* * *

 **A/N: More is to come for this chapter, I just wanted to post a quick preview. :)**


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